Arab Women and the Right to Protection: What the Numbers Show and Where to Turn for Help

Violence against women in the Arab world is not a marginal issue or a string of isolated incidents. It is a regional public health and social justice concern with deep consequences for safety, dignity and access to rights. The World Health Organization says the Eastern Mediterranean Region has one of the highest prevalence rates of violence against women globally, with 31 percent of ever-partnered women having experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence at some point in their lives. That figure alone explains why domestic violence can no longer be treated as a private household matter.

Before comparing Arab countries, one key editorial caution matters: the figures are not always based on the same indicator. Some datasets measure violence in the last 12 months, others measure lifetime exposure, while countries such as Syria and Libya still show major data gaps on comparable violence indicators. That means any ranking should be read as an informed snapshot, not as a definitive final order across the Arab region.

Among the clearest available national figures, Palestine stands out sharply. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported that 59.3 percent of currently or ever-married women aged 15 to 64 experienced at least one form of violence by a husband during the previous 12 months. The breakdown included 57.2 percent psychological violence, 18.5 percent physical violence, 20.5 percent economic violence, and 9.4 percent sexual violence. The data underline an important point: violence is not limited to physical assault. It can also take the form of humiliation, coercion, financial control and isolation.

In Lebanon, a UNFPA paper says one in three married women reported having experienced gender-based violence at some point. In Egypt, UN Women data show that 15.1 percent of women aged 15 to 49 were subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months. In Jordan, the comparable figure for the previous 12 months stands at 14.1 percent, while 18.9 percent of women reported ever experiencing intimate partner violence. In Iraq, a UNFPA brief found that 36 percent of currently married women had experienced psychological or emotional violence from husbands, 23 percent verbal violence, and 6 percent physical violence. Taken together, these figures make one point unmistakably clear: violence against women remains a serious and persistent crisis across the region.

That is where the service angle becomes essential. Once the scale of the problem is clear, the central question is no longer only who records the highest rate, but where a woman can turn if she needs help right now. Many women do not immediately describe what they are living through as “violence.” Repeated humiliation, threats, financial deprivation, isolation from family, coercion, blackmail and restrictions on movement may all fall within the wider reality of abuse. Knowing one’s rights matters, but knowing where help exists can be just as important.

Below is a practical guide to publicly listed support bodies in several Arab countries. Numbers of beneficiaries or cases are included only where they were clearly available in a published source.

Egypt

Women in Egypt can turn to the Women’s Complaints Office of the National Council for Women. The office receives complaints and consultations through 15115, and the council lists its address on Abdel Razek El Sanhouri Street, branching from Makram Ebeid, Nasr City, Cairo. A council news item said the office received 12,845 complaints and consultations in the first half of 2023.

Jordan

The Jordanian Women’s Union is one of the clearest service providers in terms of contact and program visibility. It lists its address as Jabal Al Hussein, Safad Street, behind Sukaina School, Building 56, Amman 11196, Jordan, and publishes its guidance hotline at 00962-65675729. The union also describes legal, psychological and social support services, along with protection and shelter-related programming. A report on its hotline program said it handled 2,727 cases in 2019 and 2020 combined, averaging roughly 1,500 cases a year over more than two decades.

Iraq

In Iraq, the Baghdad Women Association is one of the organizations that openly states its mission to combat violence against women and girls and provide legal, psychosocial and community-based support. Its website lists the Baghdad headquarters phone number as +964 790 697 3103. Its 2024 annual report says its projects reached 20,683 beneficiaries, including 5,806 direct beneficiaries. The publicly accessible source reviewed here clearly identifies Baghdad as the headquarters location, but does not provide a detailed street address on the same page.

Lebanon

In Lebanon, ABAAD remains one of the most visible organizations in this field. It lists its mailing address as 51 Bustani Street, Sector 5, Najjar Building, Furn Chebbak, Beirut, Lebanon, and publishes the 24/7 emergency safe line +961 81 78 81 78 as well as the accountability hotline +961 81 696 575. Its website also lists additional direct-service numbers, including the safe shelter line, and describes its model centres and protection services for women and girls facing gender-based violence.

Palestine

In Palestine, the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC) lists its location as Ramallah, West Bank, with the phone number +970 2 295-6146. Its 2021 annual report says 35 women accompanied by 4 children received emergency shelter protection, while partner organizations supported by WCLAC provided legal and social services to 201 women, including 63 court representation cases still pending. These figures matter because they show that the institution is not merely symbolic, but actively used by women seeking help.

Syria

In Syria, the Syrian Family Planning Association (SFPA) can be referenced as a publicly listed service provider working in sexual and reproductive health, child health and gender-based violence response. IPPF lists its phone number as 00963-11-3310396/3330714 and its address as Abu Rommaneh Street, behind the Medical Syndicate, Damascus, Syria. At the broader country-programme level, UNFPA Syria said it reached more than 1.5 million people in 2024 through reproductive health, gender-based violence and youth programming delivered through health facilities, mobile teams and safe spaces.

Libya

In Libya, limited national comparative data are part of the problem itself, but the service infrastructure that is publicly documented still matters. UNFPA-backed programming includes the free 1417 hotline, which provides psychosocial support, legal counselling and referrals to health services. Evaluation documents say the hotline supported 14,382 individuals, including 10,315 women and girls. UNFPA also reported that its women and girls safe spaces in Tripoli, Sabha and Benghazi reached more than 13,000 women and girls, while its centre in Gurgi, Tripoli was described as serving around 200 beneficiaries a week.

The most important conclusion is not simply that the numbers are high, but that help exists and should be made visible. The figures show that violence against women remains widespread across several Arab countries. The service map shows something equally important: there are real organizations, real hotlines and real entry points that women can turn to when fear becomes part of daily life. Knowing one’s rights is not a luxury, asking for help is not weakness, and silence is not safety.